The points record fell in the final game of the night when the USA's Andre Igoudala hit a three-point shot with 4:27 left in the game to make it 139-68, surpassing the previous record of 138 scored by Brazil against Egypt in 1988. The Americans scored 78 points in the first half alone, beating the previous Olympic record of 72 which was set by that same Brazil team against China in the Seoul 1988 Games. Several records had tumbled by the end. Carmelo Anthony had 37 points, breaking Stephon Marbury's record of 31 for a USA player in an Olympic Games. Their winning margin of 83 points beat their previous best of 72 against Thailand – a 101-29 win in 1956. The USA's achievements were the highlight of the day, but earlier the other leading contenders had made their own headlines. NBA star Tony Parker led France to an ultimately comfortable 82-74 victory over Lithuania to leave them on the verge of a place in the quarter-finals. The San Antonio Spurs man contributed 27 points as the French pulled away in the second half to earn their second win from three games in Group A. Defeat was a blow for three-time Olympic silver medallists Lithuania, but is unlikely to deny them a place in the knockout stage. Australia made light work of China to pick up their first win of the tournament, 81-61. Patrick Mills scored 20 points and David Andersen 17 as Australia finally got their Olympic campaign up and running at the third attempt to boost their hopes of reaching the knockout stage. Argentina needed to rely on Manu Ginobili's star quality as they overcame an early scare to eventually claim a comfortable 92-69 win over Tunisia, while Vitaliy Fridzon sunk a three-pointer with four seconds remaining to snatch a remarkable win and maintain Russia's perfect start against Brazil, 75-74 this afternoon. Hosts Great Britain were denied a famous win against world number two Spain. Britain overcame foul trouble for key duo Luol Deng and Pops Mensah-Bonsu to twice be two points down with a chance to tie in the final minute, but Spain's poise at the free throw line kept them in front, as they edged it 79-78.
